Paperwork
by henriettaline
Summary: It's May, and Finn and Rachel have a National trophy, plans for New York, and a marriage license that's expiring soon. Events alluded to in the epilogue of "The Unexpected Effects of Reverse Psychology".
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Set shortly before the epilogue of "The Unexpected Effects of Reverse Psychology", which alludes to these events._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything associated with it. I'd take up a collection to fix this if I thought it would do any good._

* * *

"**CONGRATULATIONS NEW DIRECTIONS 2012 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS"**

The banner hung proudly over the main entrance to McKinley High that May Monday morning. Finn Hudson looked up at it with pride as he approached – it had been a long three years, starting with a small group of misfits he'd been coerced to join and finishing with the national title they'd dreamed of. Along the way he'd learned more about himself than he'd thought possible, starting with the fact that he could actually sing well enough to perform, and most especially that he had a future outside Lima and that if he pushed himself he could accomplish almost anything. Writing a performance-worthy song that expressed how he felt. Dancing, sort of. Co-leading a choir to win that championship. Improving his grades and being accepted to a college in New York. And most of all being with his phenomenal Rachel, a girl he'd known first as a terrifyingly intense school misfit and was now his fiancée, the person who'd showed him he could be so much more than the Lima loser he had thought was his limit.

He was still tired from the trip to Chicago for Nationals that weekend, but his weariness lessened with the elation of seeing that banner and disappeared entirely when he entered the school and saw the small dark-haired girl looking at something on the school's main notice board. He always felt better around Rachel.

Finn came up behind her, alerting her to his presence with a soft 'Hey babe' as he put his arm around her waist. He then saw what had grabbed her attention: the tentative graduation list had been posted. Finn scanned down the list, finding themselves and their friends.

**Berry.** Gold star, babe.**  
Chang.** Mike, straight-As all the way, headed for dance school.**  
Evans.** Sam had pulled a heavy course load to catch up after his transfer back from Kentucky, but it was working out.**  
Fabray.** Quinn, on the other hand, right below Sam, had plenty of credits even before her accident. Her reconstructive surgeries were progressing well, and she hoped she'd be ready to go to Yale in the fall.**  
Hudson.** Small fist pump. Yes! And immediately after...**  
Hummel.** Like we were always meant to be brothers.**  
Jones.** Hell to the yes, Mercedes.**  
Lopez.** Santana, keeping it real.**  
Pierce.** Brittany always tested well, he wasn't sure how – somehow she had the facts when she needed them.**  
Puckerman.** Now this was a miracle; looked like Puck was going to make it after all.

But Finn looked at Rachel's expression – thoughtful? Sad? He couldn't really tell. "What's wrong, Rach?" he asked softly. "Going to miss this place after all?"

"A bit. But this -" she touched her name. "It doesn't quite seem right."

"It needs a gold star." He gave her an affectionate squeeze.

She smiled, but shook her head. "I just don't feel like Rachel Berry any more."

This statement shocked Finn, who looked more carefully at her, concerned. She didn't seem sad though, not now. More thoughtful. He stroked her back, and smiled at her until she met his eyes. "Well you look like her," he said softly. "And I'm in love with her, so I should know."

Rachel smiled back. "Oh I look like her, mostly," she said. "But the name doesn't fit any more."

"Okay, Rach, you're starting to scare me here," Finn said, getting worried. "Can you tell me where you're going with this?"

Rachel looked down, then up at him again. "You could ask me who I feel like instead," she said, and he saw a glint in her eye, a little mischievous expression.

"All right then," Finn responded, breathing more easily. "What name do you feel fits you better?"

"Rachel Hudson-Berry," Rachel said with a smile, so irresistible. He smiled back, relieved, happy, and cupped her cheek.

"I see the resemblance now," he murmured. "And I can't wait to meet her." He bent his head to her, and they kissed.

"Not here!" came the yell from behind them, and they looked back to see Santana. "You're not the only people who need to see this list, have some awareness of your surroundings for once!"

"Sorry, Santana," Finn said, and he led Rachel down the hall, his arm draped around her shoulders. "Do you know what we should do?" he asked Rachel cheerfully.

"Elope?"

"Yep."

* * *

They went to the auditorium for further discussion, standing at the edge of the otherwise empty stage to talk quietly.

"It's time that we could," Finn said. "All those things we didn't want to have to deal with at the same time as getting married – they're done. All that's really left is graduation."

"And the license is still valid, there's eight days left."

"Wow." He grinned at her happily, joy written on his face. "You still want to do this?"

"More than ever. I'm ready to be your wife, and I feel like I should be."

"And more than anything I want to be your husband." Finn nodded, determined. "So let's do it. You still have the license, so all we need is to arrange for an official to perform the ceremony."

"And a couple of witnesses."

"But we can't tell anyone we know this time, Rach," Finn said. "We've got to get rid of all this mess and just do it for ourselves."

"I know, who knows what insane thing my dads might try next if they realize we're going through with it." Rachel paused. "But what about your mom? It would break her heart not to be there, Finn. And I think ultimately yours too."

Finn exhaled slowly. "Yeah." He sat down on the edge of the stage, thinking. "But if we let her know, she'll tell the others, I can't expect her not to tell Burt at least, and once word gets out they'll try to intervene and deliberately make a mess of it to slow us down. Your dads were trying to break us up, and each of their schemes was weirder than the last." He shook his head. "I don't know." Rachel sat next to him, and put her arm around him. After a moment he brightened. "Unless we don't tell her."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't have to tell her what it's for," he said, getting excited again. "Just where to be. Or so she won't wonder what it's for, we could even just bring her with us, she wouldn't have to know until it started and then she won't be able to tell your dads."

"And we take her phone so she can't tell anyone." Rachel smiled, sharing his excitement.

"Yes." He grinned at Rachel. "All right, Operation Paperwork is on."


	2. Chapter 2

Finn and Rachel saw each other next at Glee that afternoon, which was basically a big party to celebrate their win. Principal Figgins came in and officially announced an assembly in their honor the following afternoon, and they chose the ensemble number to perform for it. Pizza, cake, and the ubiquitous sparkling cider were distributed widely, and they chatted in various groups. Every so often someone would go talk to Brad at the piano, or grab a guitar, and burst out into song with others joining in. Finn and Rachel joined in, singing, dancing, talking to all the others, smiling at each other as their eyes met across the room, touching hands as they passed by each other, and of course singing together. But in every look they shared now there was something extra, a wordless _Yes._

Ms. Pillsbury came in with a stack of newspapers; the local paper had done an article on their victory, complete with information on their performance and various choir members. They'd talked a lot to Rachel as co-captain, especially since the same reporter had previously talked to her for the piece they'd done the week before on herself and Kurt after they'd both received their NYADA acceptances. It was considered to be quite a coup for Lima to have two people accepted into such a prestigious program, and the new article on New Directions built on that. Rachel had tried to distribute the acclaim around to the group, however, mindful of how important the exposure could be for some of the others who didn't have their dreams already advancing, and wanting to fight against her usual diva tendencies. She wanted to be more of a team player and leader, the way Finn was, and the way that she'd need to be in an eventual Broadway career if she didn't want to be seen as difficult to work with. She'd started to enjoy getting the experience of being interviewed and seeing what she'd said show up in print, and it was certainly better to get one's feet wet with a friendly local reporter before dealing with the New York media.

Additionally, she and Finn were very grateful to their teammates for how supportive they'd been after their attempted wedding. They'd all pulled very closely together in the wake of Quinn's accident and in support of her recovery, but the group had also been understanding of the couple's need to sneak time together now that Rachel's dads were obstructive. At Nationals their teammates had conspired to give them some time alone, with even Mr. Schue persuaded to turn a blind eye to them (and the absences of the rest of the team from the rooms) after Santana bluntly told him that having Finn and Rachel perform together when they were sexually frustrated was likely to cause a repeat of last year. ("Here's how it is: the giant and the dwarf between them have less self-control than a band of rutting monkeys, so if we don't let them get laid they're likely to start dry humping on stage tomorrow once they get into it." Mr. Schue had paled, vowed he would disclaim all knowledge, and fled.) Puck had masterminded the outing for the rest of the team, since he wanted to tear up the town anyway, though Mercedes and Sam together had ensured that everyone came back in one piece. And they hadn't been the only couple in need of some together time; the following night she'd been disappointed to find the knock at the door was from Mike, but that faded the next second when he'd suggested they trade, so she could slip into his place next to Finn while he took her spot with Tina. The others had been very accepting of these covert times together.

So when Rachel heard Sam reading out the praise for "the powerful and dynamic voice of Mercedes Jones" that Rachel had nudged the reporter towards, she looked over at Mercedes's glowing smile and congratulated herself at helping bring that about. It wasn't public, or applause for her, but she felt she'd really accomplished something. She'd learned so much from Finn and the others about being happy for other people and helping them. She sat next to Finn and snuggled under his arm, just as they were accustomed to be, sighing happily. These people were her family too, and she felt buoyed by their success as well as her own, no longer the lonely selfish girl she'd been. She'd grown up. And none too soon, since she was about to get married to the young man who'd helped her the most in connecting with others and seeing outside her own wants.

The post-victory celebration and adulation continued for Rachel once her dads got home from work that night. They hadn't been able to talk to her for very long after the win, despite them attending the competition, since she'd insisted on remaining on the bus with the rest of the team for the trip home (ostensibly for team togetherness but really largely because she didn't want to be separated from Finn). So this was their opportunity to really tell her how impressed they'd been with the performance, with especial attention to her.

They took a look at the article and praised her magnanimity at spreading around the praise.

"It was very kind of you to think of the others," LeRoy said. "Excessively kind, the reporter did primarily want to talk to you after all."

"It is a choir competition," Rachel demurred. Yes, she'd been mentally patting herself on the back for her success at being unselfish, but somehow it sounded worse to be self-congratulatory about it when they actually put it that way. "And we've had mostly the same core for three years now, they all deserve recognition."

"I'm sure they appreciated it," LeRoy nodded.

"We were all very happy with the article. And of course the performances are all online so people can watch and hear all of us."

"Yes, I've been watching you again already," Hiram admitted. "And I love it more every time."

"Though nothing could be as wonderful as being there to hear you, and then seeing you win," LeRoy stated.

"We were so impressed by your solo, honey," Hiram put in. "Of course we love you, we can't be remotely objective, but – oh, I've never heard your voice better. And the others did very well too," he added.

"You harmonized so beautifully with the support you had on the choruses," LeRoy expanded.

"That was mostly Finn," Rachel stated. She saw her fathers exchange a look, and she groaned mentally. Ever since her hurriedly planned wedding to Finn has been called off when her dads' scheming had been exposed, they had steadfastly refused to acknowledge how important Finn was to her. They supported her now more than ever in her dreams for college and an eventual Broadway career, but at the same time they did their best to ignore the young man that she intended to be by her side. This was no more obvious than when they discussed the New Directions performances, since Finn was integral to them and yet somehow was always elided. This had started the day after Regionals; when she'd returned from sleeping over at Finn's they'd started acting as if the planned wedding and their argument after it had never existed and started chatting about the competition, including praising her dancing in the opening number while completely ignoring the man she'd danced with. Of course they favored her over her teammates, they were her dads after all, but their lack of interest in compliments to Finn for his achievements and contributions was excessive. It had only increased when she'd told them of Finn's acceptance at CUNY; she'd hoped they'd start understanding that there was a workable plan, but instead they started to monopolize her time even more. Still, Rachel refused to dissemble and hoped that they'd eventually get the point if she continued to talk about Finn the same way that she felt. And as they still kept the same blind eye to Finn now, it only reinforced her assurance that she and Finn were making the right decision to elope. Despite her best hopes and attempts, her dads were not coming around at all.

"Simply wonderful, all of it," Hiram said, recovering. "Such accomplished performing."

"Of course it helped that you had much better and more successful material this year," LeRoy stated.

"Actually, our duet last year was completely successful, in its way," Rachel said.

LeRoy frowned. "You didn't win, sweetie. You didn't even make the showcase."

"Finn didn't write it to win _the competition_," Rachel insisted. "Music's not just for show, it means something, and that song expressed a truth and accomplished what it was meant to do."

They were right back at their fundamental difference of opinion, Rachel realized. The kiss at Nationals last year had perfectly illustrated that her love for Finn was not subordinate to her love of performing. But while she recognized that this love was a profound part of her, her dads considered it to be something to be prevented. They thought she only belonged on the stage; she knew she belonged both on the stage and in Finn's arms. The best part of Glee Club had been getting to have both at the same time.

_I hope my dads will try harder to understand once we're married,_ Rachel thought, tears springing to her eyes. _I'll miss them so much if they don't._ She took a deep breath and tried to rejoin the conversation before they realized how distracted she was. "It's issues like that, of connecting with the meaning behind the music, that I hope to learn more about at NYADA, since it is for dramatic arts in general." NYADA was always a good topic, they'd all been ecstatic when she'd been accepted, her dads were even willing to take her and Finn out to dinner to celebrate. She was quite sure that Finn had tuned out most of the dinner conversation, however, since her dads had prattled on about potential arrangements for New York and he hadn't been noticeably uncomfortable, even though he'd been nervously awaiting his own college acceptance at the time.

The conversation next turned to the scholarship that she was a finalist for. She had her fingers crossed for that one, as the financial support would be very beneficial in being able to live in New York without needing her dads' support or going too heavily into debt. Immediate support, that is; they had contributed for years to an educational savings plan for her which was locked-in for her use when she went to college. She felt guilty about that, since it meant she could essentially take their money even if they refused to support her otherwise, but did her best to rationalize it as being an entitlement that had been long since intended for her, a gift much like the car they'd bought for her. She certainly didn't intend to cut off contact with them after the wedding, indeed had things gone ahead as originally planned she and Finn would have lived part-time with her dads until the fall, so if there were insurmountable problems then they really wouldn't be her fault. Still, she would feel less guilty about it if she could draw on it more slowly, and the scholarship would help with that while also making her feel like she was truly earning her own way, as well as it being very prestigious.

After dinner Rachel excused herself and went to her room, intent on making plans and unwilling to endure the passive-aggressive fight with her dads any longer. She went online, using her laptop, and started researching potential venues. Saturday seemed most likely, since otherwise their absence from school would be noticed and her dads potentially called. She also started organizing her paper files, selecting those that she wanted to take with her; she'd also need to move some of her things out, she realized. Fortunately she had quite a few suitcases, and her closets were so crowded that she could probably pack everything that she really needed and they'd hardly notice.

Essentials included her music and college research files. While she'd successfully gambled on NYADA for herself, she also had information on a variety of other schools in New York, some as potential backup plans for her and some that she'd looked at to bring to Finn's attention. She'd tried to help all she could, even though she had to admit that she had been less than helpful in one respect: Finn was taking a general Arts program at CUNY, keeping his options open, a concept with which Rachel was entirely unfamiliar. She'd never had to look for dreams, they'd always found her, so she hadn't been the help with his that she'd wanted to be. She knew for quite a while he had felt down on himself at having only vague plans in contrast to her highly defined and driven ones, but that seemed to be put to rest now to Rachel's great relief. Still, she couldn't bring herself to leave her research behind, though she'd need to pack and remove things gradually to avoid discovery, especially with how attentive her dads had been for the last few weeks.

Rachel sighed; she'd need to go back downstairs soon or they'd search her out. After the previous gradual increase in their absences, Rachel would have normally appreciated the increased attention. However, it seemed as though every minute more with them came at the expense of time with Finn, especially their increasingly rare time alone, as her dads had abandoned the failed reverse psychology in favor of simply putting Rachel back into her old life track. She supposed it wasn't so different from how it could have been all along, for a typical family with a typical seventeen-year-old girl, but after the freedom she'd had, and how close she and Finn had become, their separation produced a constant dull ache. And Quinn's accident had cemented the feeling of how short life was, how everything could be taken away in an instant.

_anything can happen, to turn out the light  
is it any wonder I don't want to say goodnight *  
_

Rachel sang the lines under her breath, and then decided she should go see if her dads would like to sing a little with her. Quite aside from needing to keep them from discovering what she was up to, she was leaving soon, and even with how annoying they had been recently she knew she'd miss them.

* * *

Rachel met up with Finn again early the next day, once more in the auditorium, to work out the necessary details for their planned elopement. Bringing Carole along complicated matters a lot, but they both felt strongly that they should have her there if at all possible.

"We should be able to manage Kurt as well," Finn said. "And we'd better bring him along, if we still want him to live with us in New York. Or even be in New York at the same time, even in such a big city he'd be pissed off enough that we'd notice. Besides, we'll both miss him if we don't have him there."

"Yes. I should be able to handle Kurt, and his phone, if you bring your mom."

"Okay. Now Mom has a Saturday early shift, finishing at two, so we could do it after that."

"We'll need to go out-of-town so they can't escape," Rachel commented. "I think I've found a venue, one of the local village council halls; I can contact them later today."

"Great. Can you arrange for the JP as well? Someone your dads won't know?"

"I'll do my best," Rachel said, nodding. "I'll certainly find an officiant, and I have the license, I barely let it away from me these days." She paused. "Is there anything else we need to look after?"

"Well, back in March, you did say something about wanting a wedding night." Finn grinned.

"So I did." Rachel blushed. "And, _yes_."

"I can take care of that. Any requests? Aside from me, I mean?"

"Well that's the essential. But not a chain hotel if you can manage it, they're dull. And too expensive, we may need any money we can save after pulling this off."

"We can't have a cheap place, though, Rach," Finn objected. "You wouldn't even want to sleep in some of those rooms, much less do anything else. I don't want to lose our night because there's bedbugs or something like that."

"Try to find somewhere with a little character, like a B&B. Use your imagination."

"Will do," Finn said, kissing her. "Anything else we need to do?"

"I - I think that's it," Rachel said. She beamed excitedly. "Finn... we're getting married."

"Yes we are."

Rachel bit her lip, a sudden thought coming to her. "But – when we're making the arrangements and even when we're carrying it out, we need to make sure people don't know why we're eloping."

"Well sure, they might tell your dads."

"It's not just that, it's bigger than that, even afterwards when my dads know, it's important that it doesn't get out that my dads had such a problem with us getting married."

Finn looked curiously at Rachel, but she was clearly serious. "Why?"

Rachel swallowed. "You know my dads are very involved in the gay rights movement," she said hesitantly.

"Sure. They've done a lot."

"But if it gets out that they are opposed to their daughter's heterosexual marriage, well, there are a lot of homophobes out there who might spin it rather badly. Undo a lot of the good that my dads have been able to do and use it against gay rights."

"That's -" Finn was stunned. "That's horrible."

"Yes. But it could happen. It's not like their sexuality, or mine, is actually an issue here, I'm sure they'd be just as opposed if I'd decided to marry Santana or someone like that -" she stopped as she caught the odd expression on Finn's face. "Not that I would so you can put any thoughts about that out of your head," she stated emphatically.

"Wasn't. Not really."

"Good. Anyway, it's not about that at all, straight couples interfere in their kids' lives just as much if not more, my dads are basically the paternalistic gay male equivalent of stage mothers. But there are people who would want to make it about that, bring their sexuality into it to claim that it shows that gay partnerships shouldn't be allowed to raise children. It would destroy so much of what they've been able to accomplish. Make it even more difficult for others, like Kurt, to have families."

"_Shit._ Yeah, that's bigger than us, we can't risk that," Finn said. He exhaled. "Well we are being careful already. And once we're married, they won't want to raise too big a stink for basically the same reasons. We'll all want to get along. It may be tense, but none of us will want it to blow up."

"That's true. They would look extremely foolish complaining anyway, since they did legally give us permission to get married. It would be professionally damaging for them to admit that my dad signed the consent form as a bluff."

"Yeah, that was dumb – though I'm glad they did. And of course gay people should be able to have kids, the most amazing woman in the world was raised by two gay dads." Finn smiled softly at her, then leaned down for a kiss. "And someday hopefully our kids will have cousins raised like that too." He caught the thoughtful smile that Rachel gave him. "What?"

"It's just – it's great how comfortable you are with thoughts of our future," Rachel replied. "Kids, a family. Most guys your age would be completely terrified by that."

"Well you're not with most guys my age, at least I hope not," Finn joked. He sobered. "Maybe it's because of the whole Babygate thing. I was totally terrified of being a father when Quinn told me, but after a while I started thinking about what might be good about having a kid, since I had to deal with it. And just look at Puck, you can see how much he loves Beth."

"Did you wish Beth had been yours, after you found out?" Rachel asked, biting her lip.

"God, no," Finn replied immediately. "It'll be different with ours, I mean in seven years or whenever, and they'll be _ours_. Back then – I was too young and I didn't love Quinn, yeah I kind of loved the idea of Quinn but there was already this other girl that I couldn't stop thinking about."

Rachel smiled softly. "Did you try?"

"Stopping thinking about you? Yes, I tried. Really hard, I mean I had that responsibility to Quinn, at least I thought I had." He looked down at her. "But I couldn't. Still can't, though I don't try any more." He grinned. "It's weird but I actually like that I tried, back then," he said. "Helps me be sure, know that it's real. I mean, we've been through a whole lot of crap in order to be together, we've really had to fight for it, even this thing with your dads is just the latest in a long line of things that have tried to keep us apart."

"It certainly hasn't been easy."

"No. And yeah, I would quite happily have skipped any and all of that. But because it all happened – it's like we've earned this, us being together. And we know how much we both want it, need it even. Because there have been times when it would have been so much easier to walk away, except that I can't live without you. And I know you've really fought for us too."

Rachel nodded. "We know how much this matters to both of us. How much we love each other, and how much we're willing to fight to be together."

"Yes. Though I love you more all the time."

Rachel flushed, an irrepressible smile on her face. "Me too." She paused, gazing lovingly up at Finn. "'My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee the more I have, for both are infinite.'" Finn looked at her quizzically. "Juliet to Romeo," she explained.

"It sounds right, what I get of it. But I really don't want to think about Romeo and Juliet, or Tony and Maria, or any of those," Finn stated, frowning. "It's kinda scary, in all the stories when people do what we're doing someone always ends up dead."

"That's because it's more dramatic," Rachel said encouragingly. "They're stories, and even the ones that are true are popular because they're more dramatic. Happiness is wonderful when you have it yourself, but it's not that interesting for people on the outside."

"Is that why we get all the complaints for making out at school?"

Rachel laughed. "Maybe. Though I have to admit Santana was right yesterday, we were in the way, any time I get close to you I don't really notice anything else. Anyway, while I appreciate the drama of life, I'm not going to make my life choices based on what would be more dramatic and entertaining for others, I get enough drama without trying for it. And my dads don't want me to just not be with you, they want me to not _want_ to be with you, which is impossible."

Finn smiled and held her close. "And you swear they don't have any guns."

"Completely nonviolent. And they love me, they want me to be happy, they just don't understand how essential you are to that. They will, eventually, but we can't wait for them to understand, especially since as long as we're willing to wait they don't have any incentive to understand."

"Good. Because we are doing this."

"Yes." They exchanged a smile.

* * *

* lyrics from "Anything Can Happen", by Bruce Cockburn.


	3. Chapter 3

On Saturday at two p.m., Finn was at the staff entrance of the hospital, wearing a black suit and white open-collared dress shirt. He kept a careful eye on the clock as he fiddled with his mom's spare car keys in his pocket. He exhaled in relief as he saw his mother approach.

"Finn, honey, this is a surprise," Carole said as she saw her son waiting for her by the door. "And you're looking smart, what's the occasion?"

"Hi Mom. I thought I'd drive you from work," Finn said, choosing his words carefully. He took her heavy purse from her shoulder and offered her his arm. She took it and let him escort her to the parking lot. "We'll need to use your car though."

"You're being very chivalrous, Finn," Carole commented with a smile. Finn blushed, then smiled thoughtfully. "What is it, honey?"

"Just remembering the first time someone called me that," he explained.

"It was Rachel, wasn't it."

"Yes. A long time ago, not that long after we met." They arrived at Carole's car, and Finn unlocked it and held the passenger door for her. She smiled at him as she sat down and let him close the door after her. Then he circled around to the driver's side and got in, making sure to slide her purse into the back close to the driver's side door.

"I'm not going to be able to reach that from here," Carole commented.

"Oh, well, you don't need it right now, do you?"

"Well, my phone's in there."

"That's all right, I have mine. Actually I have a quick call to make before we go."

Carole was intrigued.

Finn pulled his phone out and dialed Kurt; the plan was for Rachel to get Kurt's phone as he answered it.

"Hi Finn, what's up?" Kurt. Damn. Time to improvise.

"Hi Kurt. Is Rachel with you?"

"Yes, we're at the Lima Bean."

"Great, I need to talk to both of you. Could you put me on speaker please?" Nobody left the phone at their ear when they had it on speaker, they put it on the table instead.

"Uh, sure," Kurt said.

Finn heard Kurt fiddle with the phone, heard the sound quality get worse and the phone get put down... and snatched up again.

"Hi Finn," Rachel said cheerily.

In the background, he heard Kurt: "What are you doing, Rachel? He wanted it on speaker." Pause. "Give me that."

"Come and get it," Rachel singsonged.

Finn snickered. "Ready here," he said.

"Ready here."

"Break a leg."

"I love you."

Finn smiled, hung up, and put his phone away. He turned and smiled at his increasingly curious mother. "Let's go."

They drove on for a while, Carole eventually realizing that the road was taking them out of town. She turned to Finn. "Okay, I can't guess," she said.

"What do you mean?" Finn stalled.

"Well you were talking to Kurt, and he's apparently with Rachel, and you picked me up from work all dressed up. And we're headed away from home, out of town. You're obviously up to something. But it's nowhere near my birthday or my anniversary, and Mother's Day was last weekend, you took me out to dinner for that already."

Finn smiled. "You'll see," he said.

* * *

In the parking lot of the Lima Bean, Kurt was chasing after Rachel, who was dancing around with his phone.

"This is really annoying, Rachel," Kurt said. "That's my phone! And I don't even know what Finn wanted, he wanted to talk to both of us and you're not even talking to him, you just hung up. Aren't you at all interested in what the love of your life called about?" Rachel had arrived at her car, and proceeded to get in. "Rachel!" Kurt pulled at the passenger door. "Open up." She pouted at him, but unlocked the door. Kurt opened the door and slid into the car to join her. He glared at her. "Rachel Berry, what on earth are you doing?"

The doors locked as Rachel hit the power lock button again. "'Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night,'" Rachel purred, starting her car and pulling out of the parking lot. Kurt grabbed his belt and fastened it quickly, staring at his friend, who was acting possessed. The _All About Eve_ quote didn't reassure him at all.

"Please tell me you haven't been drinking or taking drugs, Rachel."

Rachel flashed him a quick grin, then put her eyes back on the road. "I promise, Kurt." She was steady now, sounding normal. But amused.

"Then what – did Blaine put you up to this? Oh that's so romantic."

Rachel took a look at Kurt's blissful expression and decided to take pity on him; there was a limit as to what you could pretend was going to happen, and having Kurt think he was going to a romantic rendezvous with his boyfriend was past that. "Unfortunately Blaine will not be at the place where we're going," she admitted. "Sorry." She saw Kurt's face fall. "But now I know something that I can suggest he try sometime, so that's good."

"Then we're back at 'what the hell are you doing'," Kurt snarled.

"It's a lovely day for a drive, don't you think?" Rachel asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yes, charming," Kurt replied sarcastically. He pouted but soon settled down and looked at the places they were passing, since it was obvious he wasn't going to get any answers from Rachel or get his phone back any time soon. He briefly considered trying to get her shoulder bag away from her, but since she was driving that was far too dangerous. Since Quinn's accident they had all become very paranoid about driving distractions.

Finally they turned off the road into one of the villages that neighbored Lima, and then pulled into the small parking lot around the village hall, heading towards a familiar car: Carole's car. Kurt recognized it and frowned, puzzled, then took a closer look at Rachel. While he prided himself on noticing clothes, the cardigan and sundress combination that Rachel was wearing had previously struck him as unremarkable. She'd been wearing similar things for years. But now he noticed that under the shell-pink cardigan her fitted knee-length dress was plain white, matching the headband in her hair.

Kurt gasped. "You're not," he said, agape.

"Not what?" Rachel deadpanned.

"Oh my -" Kurt saw his stepbrother get out of Carole's car, wearing a suit. "You are." They pulled in next to Carole's car, and Rachel unlocked the doors.

"Time to go," she said, getting out, bringing her shoulder bag with her. Kurt exited the passenger side, and he saw the beaming grin that Finn gave Rachel as he walked around the car to get his mother.

Carole was still very confused, although seeing Kurt and Rachel arrive did fit with her previous thoughts that they were involved somehow. She waited for Finn to open her door, then stood and looked up at her grinning son. "Okay, we're here now, I suppose?" she asked. "Now what?" No answer. "Finn, what's going on? Kurt? Rachel? Tell me, please."

"Isn't it obvious, with how they're dressed? They're getting married," Kurt said. "And I guess they don't want us to tell anyone, since Rachel _stole my phone_."

"You can tell people afterwards," Rachel said, stepping to Finn's side. "But my dads have made it quite obvious that they'll do almost any crazy thing to stop us from being together, and we couldn't risk them finding out. Especially after what happened last time."

Kurt looked over at his stepbrother. "But sneaking off, Finn? Really?"

"Hey, we brought you along, it's not exactly sneaking off," Finn protested. "And it's not like we weren't already planning to get married. But since it's the 'being married' part that's important, we decided to just do it."

"'Just do it' – wedding planning according to Nike," Kurt sniped.

"Well you can't be that annoyed if you're starting to make jokes about it," Rachel put in. "Please be happy for us, Kurt."

"Do you even have a license?" Kurt asked.

"They're good for sixty days, we've had it since March," Finn said. "Rach?"

"Right here," Rachel replied, taking a binder from her shoulder bag and starting to flip through the sleeves of sheet music it contained.

"Hidden in the Finchel duet binder, of course," Kurt commented. "Points for symbolism, anyway. But wasn't that a little dangerous? People do borrow your sheet music."

"I almost always have it with me, and they'd never dare help themselves to our duet music without checking with me first," Rachel responded. "Besides, nobody would consider doing a number that we've already perfected." She slid her hand in between the pages in the sleeve she'd selected, and came out with the printed license. "Here it is."

Kurt rolled his eyes at the song she'd used: _Faithfully._ "Okay, lots of points for symbolism."

"Thank you, Kurt," she replied with a smile. "The rings, Finn?"

"Right here," Finn said, touching his jacket pockets. He reached into one, took the box out, and handed it to Rachel. She glanced down and saw the 'F' on the top of the box.

Carole, meanwhile, was looking at her son with wonder. "Well I must say I'm impressed with how well you've got this planned out," she said with a choked laugh. "Took me completely by surprise." Finn looked at her with a small hopeful smile.

"Finn's ideas and Rachel's planning do tend to be unstoppable when they get together," Kurt commented.

Rachel beamed at Finn. "That's the idea. Now and always." Finn grinned back at her.

"It's not always a good thing. You seriously expect us to just stand and watch?" Kurt asked.

"Look, we could have gotten married at any time," Finn stated seriously. "Two days ago, we were here meeting with the JP, and we could have done it then. We didn't because we wanted you to be here. Please don't make us regret that."

Carole teared up. "Finn..." she reached up to hug him. "I love you, Finny," she whispered, starting to cry. "Thank you, this means so much to me, you have no idea."

Finn hugged her back, his own eyes starting to water. "I think I do," he whispered back. "I love you, Mom."

"And of course Rachel can live with us until you go to New York."

"Thanks. 'Cause her dads are probably going to be really pissed off with us."

"Kurt?" Rachel looked tentatively at her friend.

"Well, since you've obviously gone to a lot of trouble to bring us here..." Kurt said. He smiled. "It would be an honor."

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief, then returned to her car to shed her cardigan and get a small florist's box from the back. She opened it up and distributed three simple corsages to the others.

"Could I please have my phone back now?" Kurt whispered to Rachel as she handed him his.

"Later," she muttered, taking the small bouquet and locking her bag and Kurt's phone up in the car. She took Finn's arm with a smile and walked with him into the hall, the others following.

Once inside, Rachel went off to talk to the building manager and the justice of the peace.

Finn checked the clock. "We have ten minutes," he commented. He fished into his pocket and pulled out a black tie. "Mom, could you please help me with this?"

Carole was still tearing up a little, but she nodded and took the tie from Finn. She flipped up his collar, buttoning it up, then looped the tie around his neck and tied it carefully, concentrating on the work at hand. Then she turned his collar back down and straightened everything out. She swallowed and looked up at her son, his face so close. "You're quite sure, Finn?"

"Never more sure, Mom." He smiled down at her. "Thank you. For everything."

"Always," she replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Then she took a step back, and put her hand out for her purse. "You're going to look strange carrying that when you get married," she said, smiling. "I promise not to call anyone until afterwards, I just want to take pictures of my son and his bride."

Finn smiled at her, and handed over her purse.

Soon it was time, and they filed into the council chamber to stand in front of the officiant, who gave them some simple directions.

Finn and Rachel faced each other, clasping right hands, Finn resisting the impulse to pull her towards him, as he had a week ago in their performance. But she'd be in his arms soon enough, and for good this time. And he looked at Rachel, his heart in his eyes, seeing her loving look returning his. He took a deep breath as the officiator read out his prompt. _Now._ "I, Finn Christopher, take you, Rachel Barbra..."

Finn's voice halted from time to time on his vows, thick with emotion. Rachel powered through hers, her eyes never leaving his. And the band that she slid onto his finger in exchange for hers made it complete, tangible, part of her that would always be with him. The officiant pronounced them, and he finally pulled her towards him for a lingering kiss.

They turned, smiling, to face Carole and Kurt. Carole lowered her phone after taking one final picture; Kurt applauded, caught up in the moment.

"I don't know about you, but I believe this calls for a song," Kurt chirped.

"Well, I think my _wife_ and I can do a little bit from memory," Finn said. He grinned down at Rachel and started singing:_  
Right down the line it's been you and me_

Rachel beamed back and joined him:_  
But loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be  
oh boy (**girl**) you stand by me_

They paused, exchanging a deep look, before finishing:_  
I'm forever yours, faithfully *_

* * *

* "Faithfully" by Journey, lyrics by Jonathan Cain.


	4. Chapter 4

They broke apart to handle the final paperwork, all four of them signing the official documentation.

"Let me take you to dinner," Carole said. "Just the four of us, to celebrate. How about it?" They agreed but insisted they stay on the edge of town, not wanting to run into anyone they knew.

They found somewhere that looked suitable and was just opening early for dinner, so they had no trouble getting seated at a booth.

"My _phone_," Kurt demanded, reaching his hand across the table to Rachel. "Come on, if Blaine doesn't hear from me soon he'll think I've been kidnapped."

"You have been kidnapped," Rachel retorted, flicking her eyes up briefly from her contemplation of the menu.

"But you don't want him to know that, do you?" was Kurt's comeback.

Carole was amused by their interplay. "Are you sure you want to be living with these two?" she asked Finn.

"Hey, family, what can you do," Finn answered, chuckling.

"Okay, fine," Rachel said, handing over Kurt's phone. "But just Blaine."

"Of course." Kurt took his phone and called his boyfriend. A moment later, the rest of them heard him excitedly rattle out "_Finn and Rachel just got married!_".

Rachel groaned and rested her head on her hand. Finn, however, grabbed Kurt's phone away.

"Hey, Blaine, it's Finn. Yeah, we did. Can you please keep it to yourself for a couple of days? We want to tell the club on Monday. After that you can tell whoever you want." Pause. "What's in it for you? Well, in future when you ask me where Kurt is, I'll tell you." Pause. "Yeah, I know you weren't serious. I probably wasn't either. But this is, okay?" Pause. "Thanks Blaine, I knew I could count on you." Finn passed the phone back to Kurt. "Here, blabbermouth, now that you've told him you should be able to keep quiet about it for a couple of days."

"Did you actually threaten Blaine to keep him quiet?" Rachel asked.

Finn shrugged. "Just making it obvious that doing a favor for someone whose brother you're seriously involved with is a good idea. And he started it by asking to be bribed." But Finn was smiling, clearly amused by the whole thing.

Kurt chatted to Blaine for a few minutes more, then hung up and put his phone away. "What?" he said to the others, who were looking intently at him.

"If the point was for Blaine to not think you've been kidnapped, perhaps telling him exactly that wasn't an effective approach," Rachel said.

Kurt laughed. "It got me my phone back. And I promise I'll keep the news to myself otherwise, at least until after Glee Club on Monday." He frowned momentarily. "Assuming that you're telling my dad, Carole."

"Yes, I'll tell Burt. When we get home."

"That's fine, Mom," Finn said. "It's all official now."

"And I'll call my dads, if nothing else they need to know I won't be back as expected. But they won't be able to find us tonight without police assistance," Rachel stated. "Which would be highly embarrassing for them, having to officially complain that their daughter eloped with the man they consented to her marrying."

"Your contingency planning is seriously frightening," Kurt noted with an exaggerated shudder.

"Can you blame us?" Finn shook his head. "The last time we tried to get married it was such a mess."

"Oh I understand. But I'm starting to be scared of moving to New York with the two of you." Everyone laughed at Kurt's admission.

"Don't worry," Rachel said, smiling. "There's nothing we could want as much as this." She looked at Finn, and their eyes connected.

* * *

After dinner they parted, with hugs all round, Carole and Kurt heading back home while Finn and Rachel were going off for the night.

"Kurt?" Rachel called him back for a moment. "I'm really glad I get to have you for a brother now," she told him as she gave him another hug.

Kurt smiled. "Welcome to the family."

Rachel returned to her car, where Finn was waiting. "Ready to go?" he asked her with a smile.

"Just one more thing," she replied, taking her phone out and looking at it with fear. She pursed her lips, steeling herself for what she knew she had to do. "It won't get any better for waiting for it, and I don't want them to worry when I don't come home." She teared up and slumped against the side of her car, Finn putting his arm around her to stroke her shoulder for comfort. She took a deep breath and dialed.

"Hello, daddy. Is dad there too? I need to talk to both of you together." Pause. "No, together, can you put it on speaker?" She waited for a minute while they did this. "Okay. Now I have something I have to say, and I really don't want you to interrupt me, so I'm – I'm going to mute it on my end." She pressed the button to mute the incoming audio, cleared her throat and took another deep breath.

"Finn and I just got married. I know this isn't what you wanted, but it's what I want, what we both really truly want, and ever since March you don't even want to hear about it or that he'll be with me in New York, so we can't wait for your approval, and anyway you already gave it back in March. It's done. And I'm sorry that this will make you unhappy..." Rachel sniffled, fighting back tears, trying to finish what she had to say. "But Finn makes me so very happy, he does, and you wouldn't even consider that." She swallowed. "We're staying out tonight but we can come see you tomorrow, I think I can let you talk then, just not now. I love you both very much. I didn't want you to worry when I didn't come home tonight, I'm not lost or hurt, I'm going to be very happy. I'll be even more happy if you can continue to be part of my life."

Finn's hand brushed hers on the phone, indicating that he'd like to talk too. She nodded and let him take the phone.

"LeRoy, Hiram, this is Finn. You probably hate my guts right now and I can accept that. But I really, truly love Rachel and we want to be together, so we're doing it. And I'm going to take the very best care of her that I can, and love her forever, you don't need to worry about that." He swallowed, tearing up himself. Even though they'd had a lot of problems with the Berry men over the last few weeks, they wouldn't wish this sort of shock on anyone. But it couldn't be helped, they couldn't have their future held hostage to an approval that looked like it was never coming. "Rachel's really amazing, she's an incredible woman and I feel so lucky that she's mine, and, well, I know she wouldn't be so amazing if she hadn't had you for dads. So thank you. I mean, this is a pretty crappy way to say thank you, I get that," he babbled, "but still, thank you, for raising the most wonderful woman in the world." He paused. "We'll, um, talk to you tomorrow I guess." He handed the phone back to Rachel.

"I really hope we can get past this and still be a family, I love you both so much." With that, Rachel hung up and sank crying into Finn's arms. He stroked her back for a while as her sobs eased.

Finally she drew a deep breath, and wiped her eyes. "It had to be done, they didn't give me much choice," she said, talking mostly to herself. She looked up at Finn. "Like you said the other day, it's always been hard for us, but we've always done it. Being with you is worth it." She leaned up and kissed him. "And thank you, for what you said." She gave him a soft smile. "I hope I can earn it."


	5. Chapter 5

Finn drove for a while, taking them further away from Lima, sneaking glances over at Rachel. She had shed her sorrow at what she'd had to tell her dads and was obviously getting excited to see what he'd picked out for where they'd spend the night. Finally he turned off the highway and went down a few side roads, parking finally in front of a sparse collection of cabins threaded by trees.

Finn took Rachel's hand and her overnight bag, and he led her down one of the paths. "You said you wanted somewhere with character," he said. "I think this fits the bill." They arrived at a small cabin with a chimney. Finn unlocked the door, then put the key away. He swept Rachel up into his arms to carry her inside, and their eyes met for a moment.

Then he turned so she could see the room. There wasn't much, but it had what they needed, and Finn had obviously prepared it earlier. The fireplace had a fire laid; large bowls of lilacs sat next to the large bed, which had been made with a very familiar quilt; a bottle of sparkling cider stood in an ice bucket on the table, next to a bowl of mixed berries.

Finn put Rachel down, and she walked through the room, noticing the details: the mix of berries that they'd decided were 'Hudsonberries', the two airplane cups next to the cider, the quilt of Finn's they'd had the first time they'd made love. The fireplace, ready to be lit. That the cabin meant that, at least for tonight, nobody else existed but them. She turned back to Finn – _her __**husband!**_ – and saw his tentative smile, hopeful that she'd like the decisions he'd made. That look alone made her heart swell and tears spring to her eyes, that he could try so hard, and get things so right, and still worry about whether she liked what he'd done. She was the luckiest woman on earth, to have found this wonderful man right in front of her and get to build a life with him. And even though they'd really found each other too early, too young, they'd still known enough to hold on to each other and not let go of what they had together.

"It's beautiful, Finn," Rachel said, her voice glowing. "It's perfect, everything about this day is perfect."

"I wasn't sure about the lilacs, but I like how they smell."

She breathed deeply, stepping slowly towards him. "They're lovely. And now they'll always remind me of tonight."

"Me too."

"So where did you find the airplane cups?"

Finn grinned. "Talked Mike into picking up a few extra for me when he flew back from his Ailey audition."

"But that was before we decided to do this."

Finn looked sheepish. "I was planning something else before. But this is better."

"Better than anything," Rachel breathed, reaching up, meeting his lips as he bent to her, embracing in a passionate kiss.

"You're shivering," he murmured against her lips.

"Trembling. Just – overwhelmed. I feel like I'm about to explode, I love you so much. It's wondrous and terrifying, all together, incredible." She moaned softly, feeling his lips at her neck, his strong hands on her body. "I can't really explain it, there are no words."

"You don't need any." Finn looked into her eyes. "I know exactly what you mean." He swallowed. "I've felt that way for a long time, actually," he admitted. "I just took a while to realize what it was."

"So glad you did."

Finn smiled at her, disengaging, then smirked a little at her small whimper of disappointment as he let go of her. "I'm going to light the fire," he said. "It's cooling off outside, and we wouldn't want to shiver for real."

Once the fire was lit, Finn went over to the table. "Do you want some of the sparkling cider now?" He asked, picking up the bottle.

"Right now all I want is you."

Finn turned around and saw Rachel lying on the bed, her knee bent, looking at him seductively. His heart sped up. "Uh, you have me," he replied. "Remember today, the wedding?" He tried to suppress a grin.

"But you're all the way over there," Rachel pouted, then beckoned to him and patted the bed next to her. "Rachel Hudson-Berry would very much like you to come over here."

"Does she?" Finn walked back to the bed and lay down facing Rachel.

"Oh yes," Rachel smiled, kissing him.

"Rachel Hudson-Berry..." Finn murmured. "I wonder how different you are," he mused. "I'm going to need to check."

"Check?"

"See if there's any part of you that feels different," he replied softly, leaning over her, his hand at her waist. "Or tastes different." His lips grazed her neck.

_Oh... he's barely touching me and I'm soaring already. And I get to keep him. _Rachel felt Finn's arm slide under her, starting to feel the back of her dress. He broke off suddenly after a moment, letting her settle, and she took his other hand and brought it to her side. "Side zip," she whispered.

Finn chuckled sheepishly, then slid the zipper down. "I like how you plan."

"I'm rather fond of your planning too, everything here is so wonderful." She smiled up at him. "Starting with you."

Their clothes shed easily, and they came together lovingly, joyously, passionately.

* * *

They lay under the quilt, bodies entwined, sated. Finn stroked Rachel's hair and heard her sigh contentedly. A chorus of a song came to mind, and he sang it softly to her, rewarded by a happy smile:

_All there really is, the two of us  
And we both know why we've come along  
Nothing to explain, it's a part of us  
To be found within a song *_

Finn was mindful of what he'd learned about the life of the drummer on that song, how the world can take away the ones you love so easily. Yes, they'd done the right thing by not waiting. He nestled Rachel closer to him, so close that he felt nothing could tear her from his arms, and they dozed off.

* * *

_* "Different Strings", by Rush, lyrics by Geddy Lee._


	6. Chapter 6

Finn and Rachel met with Rachel's dads on Sunday afternoon at Breadstix, Rachel filling out a job application first. Finn frowned at this, not really happy that her needing to work was a consequence of their marriage, but it couldn't be helped. And Rachel assured him that it would be valuable experience for her, aspiring actors often had jobs like that while they were auditioning, and besides, he was working to save money for them too.

Carole had called Burt in DC and filled him in on the wedding and that Rachel was moving in with them for the summer. Apparently he'd eventually grumbled something about "didn't mean to start running a hostel but she's pretty small and I guess we have the space if she doesn't bring too much stuff and helps out around the house." So he, at least, was accepting the new reality. Rachel's dads were likely to be a different matter entirely.

Hiram and LeRoy arrived five minutes early and sat down facing Rachel and Finn in their booth. Tense didn't even come halfway to describing it; for the first few minutes they all just sat there. Rachel and Finn held hands on top of the table, holding on to each other for support.

Finally Rachel spoke. "I love you," she said, looking from one man to the other. "I always have and I always will. And I've been very lucky to have been your daughter."

"Then why?" LeRoy asked, his voice and demeanor pained.

"Because I love Finn too," she replied. "I love him and I want to spend my life with him, and you were making me choose. So I did." She started to say something more, but stopped. She couldn't beg them to forgive her, because she wasn't the least bit sorry about what she'd done, just about how they were taking it.

"We wanted to stop you from making a mistake," Hiram said. "Maybe – maybe we didn't go about it the right way, but that was all we were trying to do."

"Loving Finn, being with Finn, that isn't a mistake," Rachel replied. "We're still going to New York, I'm still going to NYADA, Finn's still going to college too. We're just going to do all of that while being together, because that's what we want to do."

LeRoy frowned at Finn, who had been silent since the men arrived. "So what do you have to say for yourself, Finn? Marrying our daughter without our knowledge?"

"You did know we wanted to," Finn said. "And neither of us is exactly from a traditional family. Rachel wants to be with me and that's her decision, I love her and I'm not going to push her away just because you're not comfortable with it."

"Hmph," LeRoy grunted in reply.

"Other than that I stand by what I said on the phone yesterday. All of it."

"Look, we know it's not going to be easy," Rachel stated. "It never has been before, but we love each other and we want to be together so we've worked through our problems, and we're going to continue to do that. Just – please don't make it any harder for us. Even if you think we've made a mistake, we're married now, it's up to you how you want to react to that but you're not going to change it."

* * *

Monday afternoon was the last Glee meeting of the year, a last goodbye to each other in the official school setting. Finn asked Mr. Schue if he could speak to the group, and their teacher nodded.

"National Champions. Looks great," Finn said, standing at the front, looking at the towering trophy with pride. It was almost as tall as he was. "And though it's quite a standard to live up to, I know that those of you who are staying are up to the challenge. Vocal Adrenaline will be gunning for you next year more than ever, so watch out."

"Bring it," Artie called out, and everyone laughed.

Finn smiled. "But this is only the third best thing I got from this club. It's funny that the best things that have happened to me all started from a little blackmail." He glanced over at Mr. Schue, whose jaw dropped open in shock.

"You _know_?" The teacher gasped.

"I've known for over two years, don't worry about it, I'm not mad anymore," Finn replied, waving off the reaction. "I figured it out. As I've been told, I'm not quite as dumb as I look." More laughter. "Anyway, the second best thing I got out of Glee was all of you, yes, that includes you Mr. Schue. We haven't always all gotten along, and we've done our share of making each others' lives miserable, but I'm with Rachel in saying that we want to stay friends with all of you, you're all really great people. Which brings me to my number one, a little smaller than the trophy but something, make that someone, that I get to take with me, as long as I treat her right. Rachel?"

Finn finally pulled his left hand from his pocket, his ring evident, and held it out to her. She gave him a beaming smile and rose to join him.

"Finn and I were married on Saturday," Rachel stated. There were general gasps from their friends, but she hushed them down. "We're sorry that we had to elope, running off without all of you, it's not what we would have preferred, but we needed to avoid the problems that we had back in March."

"Hey, not cool," Puck said.

"We know," Finn said. "But nobody got told, even the people we did bring along didn't get to find out until we got there, and we didn't think we'd be able to kidnap _you_." He laughed. "Ask Kurt for the story, I'm sure he'd tell it better than we could. Some of it may even be true."

"Anyway," Rachel continued, projecting her voice over the chatter, "we appreciate that you've all been a lot of help to us over the last few years, and especially in the last few weeks. So we would like to sing something for you." General groans. "I know we've sung a lot of heartfelt songs to each other that the rest of you haven't always _appreciated_," she went on, looking pointedly at Santana, "but this one isn't for us, it's for you, all of us."

"Nothing deep, just have some fun, but it does say something about why we decided to go ahead." Finn said, settling himself behind the drums. He nodded to Brad at the piano, counted in, then started drumming and singing.

_A very good friend of mine  
Told me something the other day_

Rachel joined in:

_I'd like to pass it on to you  
'Cause I believe what he said to be true_

_He said_

The others joined in, Puck and Sam first, grabbing their guitars, then gradually the others, getting up to dance around and sing.

_We're here for a good time  
Not a long time  
So have a good time  
The sun can't shine every day_

Puck nodded to Finn and took over the next verse:

_And the sun is shining  
In this rainy city  
And the sun is shining, oooh, isn't it a pity  
That every year has its share of tears  
Every now and then it's gotta rain_

Finn drummed away, smiling over at Rachel, who blew a kiss at him.

And they all sang it out together:

_We're here for a good time  
Not a long time  
So have a good time  
The sun can't shine every day *_

END

* * *

_* "We're Here For a Good Time (Not a Long Time)", by Trooper, written by Brian Smith and Ramon McGuire._


End file.
